Nadja (band)

Last updated
Nadja
Nadja in Concert.jpg
Nadja live in Karlsruhe, Germany, 2017
Background information
Origin Toronto, Canada
Genres Drone metal, post-metal
Years active2003–present
LabelsVarious
Members Aidan Baker
Leah Buckareff
Website Official homepage

Nadja is a Canadian duo of Aidan Baker (guitars, vocals, piano, woodwinds, drums) and Leah Buckareff (bass, vocals). Nadja began in 2003 as a solo project for Baker to explore the heavier and noisier side of his experimental ambient music performed mainly on the electric guitar. In 2005 Buckareff joined in order to make the project more than just a studio endeavour and to allow Nadja to perform live. [1]

Contents

The band's name comes from Aidan's name spelled backwards in order to match the concept of a musical style different from his own work. The J replacing the I is, according to Aidan, a reference to the Nadja character from André Breton's book of the same name and Elina Löwensohn's character from the 1994 vampire movie. [2] The duo are a married couple and are based in Berlin. [3] [4]

History

After several limited edition CD-R releases on various small labels worldwide, Nadja released its first official album Truth Becomes Death on Montreal's Alien8 Recordings in 2005. The duo has since released material on wider distributed labels and went through re-releasing older recordings either remastered or completely re-arranged, such as the newer Touched 2007 version back on Alien8 or the Bodycage album on Profound Lore Records/LP version on Equation.

They have performed in Canada, Belgium, the Netherlands, Finland, the United Kingdom, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Japan, Norway and the United States, sharing the stage with, among others, artists as Kayo Dot, Knurl, Khanate, Francisco López, Isis, thisquietarmy, BHUTAN drone, stilte, Dronevil and Mare.

Musical style

The duo combines soundscape, electronics and atmospheric vocals with slow, epic riffs and dirge-like percussion, creating a slowly moving grand wall of music that has been described as doomgaze, [5] drone, ambient-doom, and shoegazer-metal. Aidan noted that they prefer to call their style of music "ambient metal" or "ambient doom", though he is fond of the term "dreamsludge" as well. [6]

Line-up

Discography

Full-length

Compilations

EPs

Splits and collaborations

Rerecordings

Live albums

DVD

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<i>The Bungled & the Botched</i> 2008 studio album by Nadja

The Bungled & the Botched is the tenth full-length studio album by drone doom band Nadja, released in July 2008 on ConSouling Sounds and limited to 500 copies.

<i>Thaumogenesis</i> 2007 studio album by Nadja

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Touched is the debut full-length album by drone doom band Nadja, it was first released in May 2003 by Deserted Factory Records. This album was made when Nadja was still a solo effort of Aidan Baker, prior to when Leah Buckareff joined Nadja in 2005.

<i>Skin Turns to Glass</i> 2003 studio album by Nadja

Skin Turns to Glass is the second full-length album by drone doom band Nadja. It was released on October 27, 2003, by NOTHingness Records and was limited to 120 copies. The album was made when Nadja was still a solo effort of Aidan Baker's, prior to Leah Buckareff joining in 2005.

<i>Corrasion</i> (album) 2003 studio album by Nadja

Corrasion is the third studio album released by the Canadian drone doom band Nadja. Originally released in 2003 and limited to 200 copies, the album was rerecorded and re-released with three bonus tracks on August 13, 2007.

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References

  1. "The Chronicles of Doom: A Chat With Aidan Baker of Nadja". Popdose.com. 29 September 2009. Retrieved 15 November 2020.
  2. "Journal de Tlalock - Interview with Aidan Baker for "Nadja lovers" group on Last.fm (01.01.08.)". Last.fm. Retrieved 15 November 2020.
  3. "Nadja". Nadja. Retrieved 15 November 2020.
  4. ""Between Genres and Music Communities." An Interview with Nadja's Leah Buckareff". Sheshreds.com. 28 March 2016. Retrieved 15 November 2020.
  5. wyyvern. "What is Doomgaze? An introduction and the history of a heavy, ethereal underground genre". Medium.com. Retrieved 14 January 2021.
  6. "Flipper, by Nadja". Nadja.bandcamp.com. Retrieved 15 November 2020.
  7. "Excision, by Nadja". Nadja.bandcamp.com. Retrieved 15 November 2020.